For the love of Kate
by strawberry-e
Summary: After the Cold Case team arrested Ryan Steward and Moe Kitchener for murdering Kate Butler, they thought that everything was over. But new evidence reveals the real truth behind this mysterious case, and it's definitely way different from what everyone could have ever imagined…


Hey guys :)

I'll make it short and sweet: I'm German and I don't know how the detectives would talk in English (accent and such), so I'm using standard speech for everyone (hope you guys understood what I'm trying to say ^^°). Also, I'm trying to write the fanfic like a real episode, with flashbacks and everything (you can imagine how it's supposed to look like) :D

For the sake of my story, some dates and actions were altered. Because I couldn't find an exact description of the episode's events, I can just assume that my timeline is correct :-P ^-^

Now that my rambling is done, I proudly present to you my take on Cold Case: season 6 finale, episodes 22 & 23!

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did, this fanfic would be canon :D**

Summary: _After the Cold Case team arrested Ryan Steward and Moe Kitchener for murdering Kate Butler, they thought that everything was over. But new evidence reveals the __**real**__ truth behind this mysterious case, and it's definitely __**way**__ different from what everyone could have ever imagined…_

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_**Chapter 1: The case is closed**_

**(Previously on Cold Case :D)**

05.07.2009

Finally, it was over.

This particular case had left a big strain on everyone, especially detective Lilly Rush. Everything had started when a box containing a female human's skeleton was dug out on a graveyard. The team from the homicide department had found out that the box belonged to an old military academy and that it contained the remains of Kate Butler, one of the very first women to be allowed to visit this academy in 2005. They had started their investigation and found the female's former unit, questioning everyone and trying to solve this mystery.

A rather intense story was brought to light: Kate wasn't taken serious and had been bullied; she had received threatening letters and was even attacked with a knife by another cadet. Lilly Rush had been at the brink of finally putting together the puzzle pieces when another car had rammed her off a bridge on her way home. She had escaped the sinking vehicle and continued her search until she was successful. By bits of luck and a random comment from James Addison, she figured out that fellow "knob" Ryan Steward was also at the school on the day of Kate's murder. When confronting him, he admitted his crime and was taken to the police headquarters. He finally revealed that he killed Kate in a fit of rage and asked Moe Kitchener for help. The major helped Ryan to get rid of the body and veiled her death to make everyone believe that Kate had run home.

When Lilly confronted Moe in one of the questioning rooms, she had to find out that everything after the crash had been a friction of her mind and that the detective was still in the sinking car. She was about to die when divers rescued her and she was brought away.

During Lilly's recovery in hospital, the other detectives had figured out the truth rather quickly and confronted the female cadet's former messmate. They had arrested Ryan Steward and Moe Kitchener for the murder of the young woman four years ago and started their weekend with a tired, but happy sigh. Only one thing confused Scotty: the look on Ryan's face when he was arrested. Most murderers who were found out looked furious or surprised, some grinned devilishly and others watched everything with a dull look in their eyes. But Ryan Steward's reaction was different: instead of looking like the aforementioned types of murderers, he was rather relieved about something – although he did try to hide it behind a scowl. The black haired policeman from Philadelphia couldn't figure out what Ryan might be thinking, but he dismissed it as the young man probably being glad that he didn't have to be living with such a burden on his mind anymore.

The case of Kate Butler was officially closed and the two murderers were soon to be brought to court and sentenced for the death of the aspiring woman who had found such a tragic end.

Some time passed... until one fateful Tuesday afternoon, a phone call reached the detectives that would turn **everything** upside down:

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**Present: 13.07.2009; 12:56 p.m.; Philadelphia Police Department**

The homicide department was busy as always: making endless phone calls, questioning people and arresting murderers between the fifteenth cup of coffee was a normal sight to behold here. Detective Lilly Rush was released from hospital three days ago and was about to start work again. She had talked to her father and came to some sort of agreement with him, so everything in her life was starting to get kind of normal again. Her fellow detectives welcomed her warmly with hugs and good words …and was that a box with her favorite coffee and doughnuts? Lilly laughed; her friends definitely knew what the blonde woman liked.

The team conversed a bit when Nick Vera's phone rang. He picked up the receiver and grunted his name. Then a pause followed, indicating that someone on the other end of the line was talking. Suddenly, Nick fidgeted in his chair and asked the unknown person: "Excuse me, would you mind if I put you on the speakers?" He waited for the answer and pushed a small button on his office phone, "Ok, we can hear you clearly now." An older female's voice was heard. "Hello, my name is Lydia Howard and I'm a coroner. Like I told Detective Vera a moment ago, I'm calling to inform you of something strange regarding the corpse of Kate Butler." All the detectives present frowned, confusion written over their faces. Wasn't the case supposed to be finished? What could be wrong now?

The woman spoke again: "The undertaker responsible for preparing Kate's remains for the burial noticed something strange with the skeleton. It was something supposedly trivial; he would have let it slide if it didn't peak his interest… It was like this: the remains were given to the funeral parlor so that Miss Butler could have a proper burial. When talking to Mr. and Mrs. Butler about the ceremony for their daughter, Mrs. Butler remembered an incident from Kate's high school times: it seems that during a hiking tour with the class, Kate fell off a small cliff and broke her left leg. She was tough and didn't cry through the whole healing process; remarkable, I would say. Well, the point is that a broken leg leaves scars on the bone, right? But the undertaker found something …or rather he didn't: because the corpse on his table didn't have any scratch on its leg's bone, whether left or right!" The people listening to the coroner's tale became restless. Something was wrong; they could all feel the presentiment in the air. "Go on, Ms. Howard" Stillman ordered. Lydia Howard continued: "So the man became curious and asked for my help. I took the skeleton and read the investigative report of the case. It seems that the body of Kate Butler was identified through her belongings and her father who looked at the remains, but there was never a full investigation. I made it my mission to identify the corpse and compared the skull's dental impression with the x-rays from Kate's medical record… and guess what: the two dental impressions didn't match, not even one tiny bit!"

Now the detectives freaked out (if you could say that): brows were raised sky high, looks flew back and forth between the team members and everyone was majorly confused. Then, Kat asked the obvious question on everyone's mind: "If the corpse we found isn't Kate Butler, where the **hell** is she then?"

"There is only one way - meaning two people sitting in detention awaiting trial right now - to find out what really happened to poor Kate", Will Jeffries quipped in. "You're right and that's why I want all of you to follow me. We're going to visit those two in prison and ask them some more questions about Kate. I'll be damned if we can't figure out the whole truth; this twist of events really set me on edge!" their Boss rambled angrily. He definitely wasn't the only one thinking this – the other detectives were more than eager to have a _nice little chat_ with Ryan and Moe. They grabbed their belongings, told the receptionist where they were going and headed outside to their cars.

"I wonder what we will discover", Lilly said to no one in particular while fastening her seatbelt. And so the drive began…

**(Insert Cold Case theme here :D)**

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Whew, I finally finished the first chapter!

Reviews are appreciated, especially ones regarding the success or failure of my attempt at 'writing like an episode'. I want my readers to see the events in front of their eyes, or at least have a blast while reading this fic :)

Until next time!

Berry-e


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